A boring summer break in June. The weather was not very hot but had a cool breeze. I rode my bike to get the mail, my mind drifting. I got home and journeyed to my couch.

The first time I discovered Ethan Finlay I was in Denver, Colorado at the MLS All-Star game vs. Tottenham Hotspur. I was in my hotel lobby watching the replay of the game next to an old couple. Throughout the game they kept saying “Where’s Ethan’s play?” After a while I asked who Ethan was. They replied saying they were looking for Ethan Finlay. A midfielder on a rise, his first All Star Game. To my surprise, they were his girlfriend’s parents. They told me all about him, and his career.

After my flight back from Denver, I looked him up. He played for the Columbus Crew. A few days later I turned on my TV to find that the Columbus Crew was playing the New York Red Bulls. I watched Ethan closely, how he played, and his role on the field. In that game, Ethan scored twice, lifting the Crew to a 2-1 victory over one of their rivals NY. After that game, I looked up to him, I tried to be like him, play like him, win like him. When I got home I wrote a letter to him. I talked about how he inspired me, him as a player, and about myself. I sent it of into the mail, feeling eager to receive a response. But it didn’t come for a while, a long while.

I had been waiting for seven months now--everyday the hope that one letter had arrived in the mail. In September I had written a letter to my favorite soccer player Ethan Finlay. He had inspired me as an athlete. My mom was sifting through the mail, a typical day. Then something happened I hadn’t thought about in a while. My mom starting screaming, “Aidan! Get over here!”

I jumped up, immediately knowing what it was. I carefully opened the envelope, intrigued to find out what was inside. I took out the letter, quickly scanning it’s contents. He actually wrote me back! I still was in shock! After I read the letter I noticed something that stood out to me. It was a quote. Ethan said that when he was 14, his soccer coach told him something that he had took with him for a long time. It was “Good, better, best, never let it rest until your good is better, and your better is best.” This quote meant a lot, I felt inspired. After seven months, my favorite soccer player Ethan Finlay finally responded!

Today, I still think about that quote, in everything I do, my mind drifts to, “Good, better, best, never let it rest until your good is better, and your better is best.”